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Hiking Mescal Mountain
Jun. 4th, 2022 09:05 amSedona Travelog #12
Mescal Mountain, Sedona, AZ - Mon, 30 May 2022, 10:30am
After visiting the Birthing Cave (previous blog in this series) we discussed where to go next. Despite our epic 9-mile, almost 2,000' ascent hike yesterday we were feeling somewhat spry this morning. Like, not 100%, but also not, "Enh, let's sit around the pool deck all day," wrecked.
Looking down from the cave toward the route we came in on we figured, "Let's see if that trail goes up over the flank of Mescal Mountain." It looked like only a few hundred feet more ascent, an amount we could handle today.
It took a bit of route-finding to actually find the trail in a few places— which is a good sign, because it means the trail is lightly traveled & we'd have the area to ourselves. Soon we were scrambling up layers of rocks, even having to climb a tree at one point to help ourselves up the mountain.
Near the top the trail brushed past this area used by ancient cliff dwellers. As I've noted before, caves this size were probably not dwellings but storage areas for food. Deep under the rock layers the air stays cooler, even in the blisteringly hot summer. In the early spring, ice from the winter lasts longer. BTW, the tree branching in on the right side of the photo is the one we climbed to get here.
The path continues up from this level. There were no more trees we needed to climb but there were a few steep spots where we needed to use our hands for balance as we scrambled up the rock.
At the top the payoff was exactly what I was hoping for: amazing long-distance views in all directions.
In the photo above we're looking across Deadman Canyon to the mountains beyond. Just beyond those mountains, starting to the left, is Boynton Canyon, where we hiked yesterday.
From this saddle point the trail branched left and right. It didn't go straight forward because that was straight down! The knob to the right (shown in the photo above) looked like a fairly easy climb, so I climbed it. Hawk was flagging so she stayed down here. The views from atop the knob were great... but not quite as great as just below. It's that thing again about summitting a mountain.... The views from the top are always missing something: the mountain you can't see because it's beneath your feet!
Mescal Mountain, Sedona, AZ - Mon, 30 May 2022, 10:30am
After visiting the Birthing Cave (previous blog in this series) we discussed where to go next. Despite our epic 9-mile, almost 2,000' ascent hike yesterday we were feeling somewhat spry this morning. Like, not 100%, but also not, "Enh, let's sit around the pool deck all day," wrecked.
Looking down from the cave toward the route we came in on we figured, "Let's see if that trail goes up over the flank of Mescal Mountain." It looked like only a few hundred feet more ascent, an amount we could handle today.
It took a bit of route-finding to actually find the trail in a few places— which is a good sign, because it means the trail is lightly traveled & we'd have the area to ourselves. Soon we were scrambling up layers of rocks, even having to climb a tree at one point to help ourselves up the mountain.
Near the top the trail brushed past this area used by ancient cliff dwellers. As I've noted before, caves this size were probably not dwellings but storage areas for food. Deep under the rock layers the air stays cooler, even in the blisteringly hot summer. In the early spring, ice from the winter lasts longer. BTW, the tree branching in on the right side of the photo is the one we climbed to get here.
The path continues up from this level. There were no more trees we needed to climb but there were a few steep spots where we needed to use our hands for balance as we scrambled up the rock.
At the top the payoff was exactly what I was hoping for: amazing long-distance views in all directions.
In the photo above we're looking across Deadman Canyon to the mountains beyond. Just beyond those mountains, starting to the left, is Boynton Canyon, where we hiked yesterday.
From this saddle point the trail branched left and right. It didn't go straight forward because that was straight down! The knob to the right (shown in the photo above) looked like a fairly easy climb, so I climbed it. Hawk was flagging so she stayed down here. The views from atop the knob were great... but not quite as great as just below. It's that thing again about summitting a mountain.... The views from the top are always missing something: the mountain you can't see because it's beneath your feet!
